Holy Ghost, dispel our sadness, Pierce the clouds of sinful night; Come, O source of sweetest gladness, Breathe your life and spread your light. Loving Spirit, God of peace, Great distributor of grace, Rest upon this congregation; Hear, O hear our supplication. From that height which knows no measure, As a gracious shower descend; Bringing [...]
O Thou that hear’st when sinners cry, Though all my crimes before Thee lie, Behold them not with angry look, But blot their mem’ry from Thy book. Create my nature pure within, And form my soul averse to sin: Let Thy good Spirit ne’er depart, Nor hide Thy presence from my heart. I cannot live [...]
After my Christian, Choctaw, Missional talk, I wound up playing two Rich Mullins covers at the small Choctaw Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Mississippi. The two Rich Mullins songs are “Calling Out Your Name” and “The Howling”. I totally butchered them. Sorry Rich. The song played at the end – “How You Love Me” – is [...]
I had the distinct honor of speaking with members of a Choctaw Baptist church in Philadelphia, Mississippi, about creativity and songwriting. The title of the talk is “Christian, Choctaw, Missional – Pursuing Redeemed Cultural Creativity”. I was incredibly honored to address members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. They are wonderful, hospitable people with [...]
When I first heard your voice Your lips dripped of honey I was young and foolish – couldn’t see what you were doing Now your words croak like lies how hollow are your eyes you brought me to the brink of utter ruin All the dreaming of my youth Now like a carcass in the [...]
If you’re not familiar with Genesis, you’ll probably think I had a really bad home life after reading the lyrics to “You Were Hated.” In actuality, the song is about Jacob; his brother, Esau; and a certain Angel who took the hate so he could be loved. I’ve had a verse and chorus for this [...]
One day during college a friend of mine – Tim Hagen, who also happens to be one of my favorite songwriters – popped into my room discouraged and half-confessed a sin he was struggling with. I say half-confessed because he followed it up with, “Oh well, I guess God will forgive me.” To which I [...]
I came across these two images at separate times awhile back – one of Johnny Cash and the other of soon-to-be-Pope Ratzinger. Thought the photos had a certain resonance. Cash and Ratzinger have a similar nose and brow. They both look like year-worn men.
What do you think?
I have dozens of unfinished songs. A stanza, guitar rift or chord progression often rattle around in my head for months or years before settling into an arrangement. Starting a song is easy. Finishing one is often harder. There are times when I feel like all the unfinished music in my head keeps me alive. [...]
We Rest On Thee Cyberhymnal needs to redo their site [and stop the midi files from playing automatically], but there’s some good info there: This hymn has a sad story associated with it. In January 1956, five missionaries sang it before entering the Ecuadorian jungle to bring the Gospel to the Auca Indians. Their names [...]